Papers of John Adams, volume 14
2? March 1783]1
on calling this Moment for my Man Manuel to comb me I am told he is gone to shew my Nephew the Fair—2 I fear they will have so many fine Things & Raree shows to see and admire, that my Head will remain in statu quo ’till afternoon, & consequently our intended Visit to Ct. Sarsfield be postponed. Thus does Tyrant Custom sometimes hold us by a Hair, and thus do ridiculous Fashions make us dependent on Valets, & the Lord knows who—
adieu my Dr Sir / Yours sincerely
RC (Adams Papers); addressed: “His Exy. Mr Adams / Hotel du Roy”; endorsed: “Card / Mr. Jay”; filmed at [1782–1783]. Dft (NNC:John Jay Papers).
The month of this letter is derived from Jay's draft, which he endorsed “To Mr. Adams, March 1783.” The 2d is the likely day it was written because of Jay's reference to “the Fair” at the end of the first sentence. If the fair was the annual carnival, it would have ended by 5 March, Ash Wednesday, the date from which all entertainments were closed for Lent.
Jay's valet, whom he had brought with him from Spain, was Manuel de Egusquisa; his nephew was Peter Jay Munro (Jay, Unpublished Papers
, 2:11, 684). JQA was a friend and correspondent of Munro. The Adams Papers editorial files record 26 letters from JQA to Munro between 26 Oct. 1783 and 10 Nov. 1784, all of them at NNMus; but see also
AFC
, 8:300, 301.
C’est avec le plus sensible plaisir que j’ai l’honneur de vous annoncer que Monsieur Votre fils s’est embarqué à Copenhague pour Kiel d’ou Il se rendra à hambourg ou nous L’attendons incessament.1 Monsieur le Chevalier de Viviers Ministre du Roy en cette ville2 se fait un plaisir de faire sa Connoissance et je ne manquerai pas de lui temoigner tout mon empressement à lui être util, pour Convaincre Votre Excellence du zêle que j’ai à vous Convaincre du profond respect avec lequel j’ai L’honneur d’etre / Monsieur / de Votre Excellence / Le très humble et très obeissant Serviteur
Translation
It gives me great pleasure to inform you that your son has embarked at Copenhagen for Kiel, whence he will travel to Hamburg, where we await 309him forthwith.1 The Chevalier de Viviers, the king's minister to this town,2 will be happy to make his acquaintance, and I myself shall not fail to express my eagerness to assist him, the better to convince your excellency of the deep respect with which I have the honor to be, sir, your excellency's very humble and very obedient servant
RC (Adams Papers).
JQA reached Copenhagen on 15 Feb., intending to sail from there to Kiel. But contrary winds and harbor ice forced him to abandon that plan, with the result that he departed Copenhagen on 5 March, traveled overland to Hamburg, and—although his diary indicates the 10th—arrived there on the evening of the 11th. Lagau's information about JQA's planned departure from Copenhagen was derived from a letter to the French minister at Hamburg written by Matthieu de Basquiat, Baron de La Houze, the French minister at Copenhagen, whom JQA had seen on 19, 23, and 24 Feb. (JQA, Diary
, 1:171–174;
AFC
, 5:97–98, 104; from Pierre Penet, 17 March, below).
Claude Antoine, Chevalier de Viviers, French minister to Hamburg since Oct. 1782, was the Comte de Vergennes’ brother-in-law (
Repertorium
, 3:119; Murphy, Vergennes
, p. 167). For the minister's letter of 3 March to the Duc de La Vauguyon, which repeated Lagau's report on JQA's movements at somewhat greater length, see Dumas’ letter of 11 March, and note 1, below.